Apparatus for loading heavy spools



J. B. FULTON APPARATUS FOR LOADING HEAVY SPOOLS May 5, 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet l Filed May 28,` 1946 i a i l I l' n. M, m

vM1515' 5, 1953 J. B. FULTON 2,637,452

APPARATUS FOR LOADING HEAVY SPOOLS Jelmag,

May 5,1953 J. B. FULTON APPARATUS FOR LOADING HEAVY sPooLs 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed May 28, 1946 Patented May 5, 1953 APPARATUS FOR LOADING HEAVY SPOOLS Joel B. Fulton, High Point, N. C., assignor to R. L. Brinson Company, High Point, N. C., trading as Transport Apparatus and Device Company Application May 28, 1946, Serial N o. 672,737

y My invention relates to means for loading heavy spools, as for example the warp beams used for holding rayon cords such as are used in the manufacture of automobile tires. These beams are hauled by trucks over long distances at high speeds and it is an object of my invention to facilitate the handling and hauling of such spools and to increase the safety of the operations of loading and hauling. In general, the object is to make improvemets over such prior patents as that to Koonce, No. 2,144,600, January 17, 1939. Another object is to provide means for safely and securely holding all parts of the load, whether it is a full load consisting of two full rows of spools,

each row extending the full length of the truck body, or consists of a smaller number of spools, which may be arranged either in one row or in two superposed rows at one end of the truck, leaving space for other freight at the other end of the same.

Another object is to provide means for eectively preventing rolling of individual spools.

Another object islto provide improved anchoring means for the load and its individual members, including means for convenient storage of parts of the anchoring means in out-of-the-way locations.

Still another object is to provide for carrying the upper rack, that is located between the upper and lower rows of spools when in use, in such a way that it does not interfere with the use of the truck for hauling other freight, yet can readily be put into use again when spools are to be hauled.

Another object is to provide braking elements common to spools located in the upper and lower rows, and acting simultaneously and effectively on two or more of such spools to prevent them from rolling lengthwise of the truck carrying them, such means acting to prevent even any accidental rotation of a spool. y

Referring to the drawings, which are made a part of this application and'in which similar reference characters indicate similar parts:

, Fig. 1 is a vertical longitudinal section of a truck, showing the general arrangements of parts,

Fig. 2, a horizontal section of the same on line 2 2 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3, a rear elevation, partly in section,

. Fig. 4, an enlarged detail showing part of the rack between the upper and lower rows of spools,

Fig. 5, a transverse section of said rack,

Fig. 6, a detail perspective of parts of the rack,

Fig. 7, a detail of parts shown in Fig. 1,

Fig. 8, a section on line 8-8 of Fig. 3,

. 1, a chock 33 5 Claims. (Cl. 214-105) Fig. 9, a side elevation, partly in section, showing the gearing for actuating the means for raising and lowering the rack,

Fig. 10, a section on line IU-l D of Fig. 9,

Fig. l1, a partial transverse section of the truck body, showing a pocket for storage of a chain forming part of the anchoring means for the load,

Fig. 12, a detail of means for holding a load chocking or scotching means in place,

Fig. 13, a perspective of the chock,

Fig. 14. a perspective of the chock, looking in the opposite direction, and

Fig. l5, a detail of a quick-acting load binding means.

In the drawings, reference character 211 indicates generally the body of a truck of any suitable or conventional type, said truck having the usual cab 2|, side walls 22, 23, roof 24, and other suitable or conventional parts. The floor comprises a bottom layer 25 of planks supported by cross-bars 2t, the edges of the outermost planks resting on a bracket 26 (Fig. 11) In a preferred form of the invention, one or more planks 21 rest on the floor portion 25 adjacent each side wall 22, 23 of the truck body and serve to guide the heads 28 of the lower spools in their travel along the body of the truck, said heads having the usual spindles 28. In order to reduce Wear on the floor I provide a reinforcement, here illustrated as comprising a flanged member having an upright part 29 with lateral flanges 311. 3|, 32, the rst of which flanges rests on the adjacent oor portion 21, the second iiange 3l resting on the main floor portion to serve as a track for the iianges of spools, and the third ange 32 may lie underneath a plank 25 of the main iloor portion, while the body part 29 above the flange 3l forms a lateral guide for the spool heads 23' and also protects the edge of the plank 21 against the action of said heads as the spools roll along the oor in loading or unloading.

In the form of the invention shown in Fig.

is provided at each side of the forward end of the truck body for limiting the forward rolling movement of the lower row of spools. Any conventional or desirable chocks may be used, but they are shown here as being wedging blocks lying on the iioor just inside the side door planks 21, 21, their rear faces being inclined so as to stop the-spools by engagement with their flanges, and the chocks being held in place by bolts 33passing into holes in the oor members.

These bolts may be loose so as to be easily lifted out of place, and there may be a plurality of holes for adjustment of the chocks lengthwise of the truck, if desired.

The upper and lower rows of spools are separated by a rack having parallel side bars 34, 34 connected by cross bars 35. (Fig. At their forward ends the side bars have notches in their under faces (Fig. 7) at 36. L-shaped supports 31 notched at 3B to intert with the notches 3S of the side bars are adapted to be placed in upright position on the wedging blocks 33 and are held in place by bolts 33' or in any other convenient manner. The use of these supports enables me to add another spool 39 to the load at the front end of the racks, which it would otherwise be unsafe to do, on account of the excessive weight at the unsupported front end of the rack, it being remembered that a spool of rayon cord such as used in tires weighs about 1100 to 1200 pounds.

The tracks for the lower spools may be Conventional except as previously described, but the tracks on the side bars of the rack differ radically from anything known to me, and these side bars differ also at their under faces from previously known rack parts. Referring now particularly to Figs. 4, 5 and 5, each rack side bar has secured thereto or integrally formed therewith a regularly wavy or sinuate flange dii. it will be seen that when the rack is placed on a lower row of spools there is an arcuate portion of said flange of considerable length in contact with each lower spool head, which thus serves as an effective brake to prevent rolling of the spools individually. In fact, the only movement that can take place is a sliding motion of the entire row, which is effectively precluded by the checks 33, 33 in cooperation with the anchoring means later described.

In order that the spools of the upper row may be moved into place without undue diculty there are arranged along each side bar means for covering one or more of the arcuate depressions of flange d, said means comprising a series of track sections 11i of angle-iron, pivoted to the upper margins of the respective side bars at 42, and each extending from one crest of the ange to the next. These side bars can be moved readily into idle or active positions, as illustrated in Fig. 5. The series of track sections extends from the rear end of each side rack member nearly to the front end, but, as shown in Fig. 4, there is no track section at the position of the foremost spool in the upper row. The rack is preferably divided, into two or more lengths, as at d3 (Fig. 1) for convenience in making up fractional loads.

Any suitable chock or wedge block may be used at the rear end of the lower row if desired, but usually no such means is needed with the loading arrangements herein disclosed, and the same is true of the front end of the upper row, the need for such checking arrangements being obviated by the rack structure. In loading a truck equipped with the devices herein disclosed, the spools are rolled into the truck, after placing the chocks 33, 33, so as to iill the lower row either wholly or in part, according to whether or not a full load is to be hauled, and then checks are placed at the rear end of the row, if desired. Either a full length rack, or one or more sections of a sectional rack are placed on the lower row, whereupon the under faces of the ribbon 40 act as brakes on the warp beam head to prevent rotation of the spools.

All the pivoted track members 4l are placed in the operative full-line position and a spool is placed on them and rolled to the front end of the truck, where it runs clown to the position indicated at the left of Fig. 4, with its heads resting on downwardly curved portions of ribbons 40, 40. Then the most forward pair of track sections 4l are swung into the idle (dotted line) position of Fig. 4 and the next spool is rolled into position and so on until the load is completed. Thereafter chocks are placed on the rack at the rear of the upper row, these chocks being preferably such as those shown in Figs. 13 and 14.

These checks comprise blocks 44 each having a lateral hook 45 adapted to engage over a rack member Sil when the chock stands on a ribbon element llt. Each chock is provided with an arcuate surface at it to contact a spool head 28, and a harige il to engage the end of the head and prevent relative movement axially of the spool. A shoulder fit on each chock serves to receive one of a pair of chains 49, 49 that are parts of a load binder for securing the chocks in place and for preventing rearward sliding movement of the load.

Each chain lid is secured at one end to a crossbar 5t near the bottom of a socket 5l set into the truck floor and forming a pocket to receive the entire chain and hold it in out-of-the-way position when not needed, e. g., when the truck is empty or is used for hauling freight other than spools. The chains, at their free ends, have links to engage with hooks 52, 52, from which they may be quickly disengaged when not needed. Each hook is carried by one of the links 53, 54, link 53 being pivoted by another link 55 to one end of handle 52:2, while its link Eli is pivoted to said handie at a point remote from its ends and has an arm 5l for the hook 52. It will be seen that the chains can quickly be drawn taut or released by an appropriate swinging movement of handle 5S.

In order that the rack may be put out of the way when not needed, I provide means for elevating it to a position near the top of the truck body. The rack as a whole is indicated at 5l, and two or more pairs of cables 58, 53, are connected to it by hooks, or by tying to the rack, or in other convenient manner, these cables extending about pulleys 59, 5S, at the top of the truck body down through guides (it (Figs. 3 and 8), about pulleys 5I to a winding drum 52 at each end of a long shaft 63 located below the truck body (Fig. 1) and geared to a parallel lower shaft Sli. Shaft 64 car' ries a pinion @5 meshing with a gear '66. A ratchet 6l on shaft S4 is engaged by a spring pressed pawl Sii to prevent accidental lowering of the elevated rack, and a bevel gear 591 meshes with a like gear 'it on a laterally extending shaft 'Il provided with a crank for manual operation. Any suitable pawl lifter may be provided for raising pawl 58 to permit lowering of the rack to operative position.

It will be obvious that the front half of the rack could be used alone, with a row of six or fewer spools below it and with a corresponding reduction in the number of spools above it, the chuck it being suitably moved forward and secured in place by attaching suitable chains such as those at i9 to temporary holding means or to supplementary pockets.

It will also be obvious to those skilled in the art that many other changes may be made in the devices herein disclosed, all without departing from the spirit of the invention; and therefore I do not limit myself to what is shown in the drawings and described in the specification, but only as indicated in the appended claims.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A rack for use in loading heavy spools, said rack having side bars adapted to engage the ends of spools in two superposed rows, and a sinuate inwardly projecting flange on each side bar, said ilange adapted to bear against the periphery of the heads of spools in an upper and a lower row and track sections adapted to be positioned over said sinuate flange, each section extending from one crest to the next crest of said ange.

2. A device for loading heavy spools and the like, comprising a pair of similarly scalloped parallel track members providing alined arcuate depressions to receive the heads of a spool or the like, and means for covering one or more successive upper recesses and thus to provide a smooth path over which spools may be rolled to depressions remote from an end of the track members.

3. A device for loading heavy spools and the like, comprising a pair of similarly scalloped parallel track members providing alined arcuate depressions to receive the heads of a spool or the like, and alined track sections each movable into position vto cover a depression in a track member or into an idle position.

4. A device for loading heavy spools and the like, comprising a pair of similarly scalloped parallel track members providing alined arcuate depressions to receive the heads of a spool or the like, and alined track sections each movable into position to cover a depression in a track member or into idle position, each track member being aftions each having a ange adapted to cover a depression in a scalloped track member, said track sections being pivoted at the margin remote from said flange to the upper part of a side bar, so that a section can be swung from an active position to an idle position remote from the adjacent scalloped track member.

JOEL B. FULTON,

References Cited in the le 0f this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 921,855 Loskamp May 18, 1909 1,247,553 Linquist et al Nov. 20, 1917 1,277,619 McMullen et a1 Sept. 3, 1918 1,728,608 Hamilton Sept. 17, 1929 1,826,960 Simning Oct. 13, 1931 1,903,457 Swift et a1 May 9, 1933 2,144,600 Koonce Jan. 17, 1939 2,277,219 Fulton Mar. 24, 1942 2,335,517 Koonce Nov. 30, 1943 

